


Boxes of memories

by serendipitous_rambles



Series: Stranger Prompts [25]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen, Tumblr Prompt, father and daughter duo, subtle mileven hints because i couldn't resist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-10 20:17:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15299223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serendipitous_rambles/pseuds/serendipitous_rambles
Summary: El and Hopper looking through old photos or something and El finds a photo of Benny. She talks to Hopper about him and he thinks that he committed suicide but realises that the was killed by the bad men.- tumblr prompt





	Boxes of memories

After a year of those bleak cabin walls, Hopper finally decided to buy a real house. A real home for him and El now she was properly a part of his life. But the moving process was a lot harder than he remembered. There was so much stuff at his cabin, mostly the crawl space under the floors.

 

With El's help, he managed to get out all the boxes, one from 1958 in particular caught his eye.

 

On it was scribbled in his mother's neat handwriting:  _ Jimmy's senior year.  _ He chuckled to himself, remembering how he had so hated her calling him “Jimmy”, but now he'd give anything to hear her call him that one more time.

 

He sat on the floor, and blew the dust from the box. He could feel El leaning over his shoulder and gestured for her to have a look. 

 

Together they opened the box. It was dusty and full of old memories. He pulled out an old sport jacket and battered baseball mitt.

(“ _ Believe it or not, I was on the baseball team.” _

_ “Baseball?” _

_ “Yeah, remember that game we watched on the TV where they hit a ball in that big square?” _

_ “Oh, yeah.” _

_ “We should play a game sometime.” _

_ “I'd like that.” _ )

 

El reached in and grabbed the book that read: Hawkins high school, class of ‘58. She turned the pages, seeing a few familiar names. Her eyes immediately drawn to the picture of the Class President.

 

“Ted Wheeler.” She tilted her head to read it. She stared for a moment at the picture, knowing it was Mike's father when he was younger. Her hand ran over the black and white photo. He had the same smile as Mike, but there was no warmth behind it, no light behind the eyes like Mike had when he smiled. It looked like Mike, but at the same time….it didn't look anything like him at all. Like Mike without his personality, like something was missing.

 

She turned the page, a sea of unfamiliar faces staring back at her. She kept turning, and her heart suddenly dropped. 

 

“Benny…” she hesitantly reached out to the photo reading  _ Benjamin Hammond _ .

 

Hopper stopped rummaging in the box and looked at the photo. Sure enough, there was his old best friend, back in the days of youth.

 

The beard was not there, but it was the same welcoming face. 

 

“Gone…” El whispered sadly, still looking at the photo.  Hopper wrapped an arm around her reassuringly.

 

“I know…” he said, that same sinking feeling in his chest. He had no idea Benny was struggling, he wished he could have been there more for him like when they were kids. Maybe he'd still be here…

 

“He helped me.” She said, and Hopper looked up. He didn't know that. “Gave me food. But the bad men…”

 

“I thought he committed suicide.”

 

“Suicide?” she was unfamiliar with that term. Funnily enough it wasn't one of her words of the day.

 

“Killed himself.” Hopper explained and she nodded, understanding.

 

“I saw them. It was my fault.’’ she whispered. “My fault…”

 

“No it wasn't.” He said firmly, squeezing her shoulder. “It wasn't anyone's fault but the bad men. You couldn't have done anything.”

 

She looked down, swallowing the lump in her throat. For so long she'd believed it was her fault, that she was the monster and she hurt people. But lately she'd learned that it wasn't true. That they'd all done bad things, but she did what she had to do. 

 

She'd saved them more times than they could count. Mike always assured her of that. 

 

“I know.” She looked up at Hopper. “But it's still sad.”

 

“I think I have more photos of him. Do you wanna see?” Hopper smiled sadly and she nodded. “Alright.”

 

They began rummaging through the boxes again, pulling out old photos, an El laughing at Hopper’s awful old hairstyles. They both missed Benny, but seeing these photos was a way to keep him alive in their memories.


End file.
